Cora
by rdpaige
Summary: What if Sengoku had decided to look for the boy Rocinante gave his life for? This is the story of if Law joined the Marines Lawlu


Tracking down the boy was the easy part. He'd known, through the boy's past alone, that he'd be forced to kidnap him…but that was easier said than done because the boy was strong.

And he'd found friends.

So instead of one, he was hauling in four unruly kids that weren't above fighting dirty. Only Haki kept him from losing one or all of them.

The men under his command were sympathetic when he explained that his idiot grandson had it in his head that he could be a pirate. They kept their eyes peeled and when the littlest one managed to escape, he was quickly caught and bound again.

It took two weeks to convince the boy—in private where his little friends couldn't make him defensive—to stop trying to escape. That the Marines would be the LAST place the feathered asshole would think to look for him.

It was a conditional surrender, however, and despite his entire being rebelling against the idea, he agreed that if Law still wanted to become a pirate at nineteen, he wouldn't stop him.

But the boy shocked him when he growled, "I don't WANT to be a pirate. I HATE pirates. I want to watch them all burn too." Tired eyes looked up at him with such a soul-deep _exhaustion_ that he felt his own bones ache in sympathy. "But I have no choice. There's a spy. Probably several."

And wasn't that a comforting thought. He got the name of the spy he knew for sure (Vergo, god, he was one of their best everyone loved him, how had he slipped by) but all they could do was keep an eye on him to make sure he only got information they didn't care about. How to hide the boy when he knew what he looked like already…

It took some work, but they figured it out. A name change (Cora, for Cora-san. His heart ached at the thought of his boy, burned as a pirate) though they didn't bother with a surname, dark glassed goggles (that would also make the boy less off-putting since most of his threatening presence was because of the way he LOOKED at people), and a different hat until he was strong enough to get away from his ex-captain if they ever met.

Once the boy was won over, the other three became the sweetest kids on the planet. Eager to help and quick to laugh, they were perfect companions for the brat.

But the boy needed to travel to learn how to use his Devil Fruit. Learning medicine was mostly practical, so Sengoku ordered the Captain of the ship to pretty much ferry the boy around between training and missions to heal people in the South Blue. On the ship, they'd be chore boys but none of them minded. Not even Cora. He'd be sent reports straight to his personal Den Den and though there were some morality troubles ("He wants to cut people up." "Do they die?" "No…" "Then let him.") but eventually the crew became used to his powers and calmed.

The next time Sengoku visited nearly three months later, the boy's skin had darkened considerably, the spots gone, and with it the last identifying mark of Trafalgar Law. He was happy to see him so healthy and decided to test him and his friends, finding out they'd found another kid for their group, and determined that they were all strong enough to join the crew's training regimen. He put it up for the Captain to decide if they could join on missions and spent the rest of his time getting to know his charge.

There was resistance, of course there was, but Sengoku took a leaf out of Garp's book and pressed the issue stubbornly—stories of Rocinante growing up, the parallels he saw between the two, some normal fawning and gifts—

—it only took a year and a half for the boy to crack. He was now Ojii-ya and he could finally show Garp the pictures he'd been itching to rub in his face.

His grandson reluctantly joined the Marines properly at HQ for the required two years of training and the entire group grew in strength bafflingly quickly. All Cora said on the matter was that with his Devil Fruit he knew exactly how to get the most out of the body. He refused to divulge the secrets, but it was fine. He just imagined an entire base full of new recruits with the power of a Warrant Officer and shuddered. It'd easily become chaos. The boys rose through the ranks quickly, never leaving one of theirs more than a rank behind and when they returned to the sea, Cora held the rank of Ensign, which barely made him a commissioned officer, but it was eight ranks—it made him stand out and when he applied for positions in the West Blue, he took them with him.

By sixteen, the boy was a Commander and honestly, Sengoku had never seen a more cohesive crew than the one the boy had cobbled together when he took command of his own vessel. No more fighting higher-ups on who could join when they found new friends, he was able to control the screening process and accept whomever he wanted on board. Thankfully, the boy had a standard for crewmates and they were never assigned the wrong rank, so Sengoku found no need to discourage him.

Even though some of the background checks were a bit skimpy.

By their agreed age, the boy had reached Commodore. His Mink friend was Captain while the others were between Commander and Lieutenant-Commander. It was strange to have so many high-ranking officers on one ship, but Sengoku had been certain that no matter what way the boy chose to go, his crew would follow and…he wanted that loyalty for his boy.

The lack of questions for why he'd allowed the boy to desert was also a factor if he were being honest.

As he stepped on the ship, he noticed it was looking less and less like a Marine vessel every day. Not a good sign, but not damning either, so he let himself hope. Though a part of him wondered if a submarine wasn't the greatest idea his boy had ever had. The feathered bastard's many strings couldn't reach him under the water.

Cora was on the deck, reclining in a lawn-chair with his feet propped up on a table as he read the newspaper. An empty chair was beside him angled just enough for them to see each other without having to turn too far. "Ojii-san." He greeted without looking up.

Oh, he'd been promoted? That didn't bode well. "Cora-chan." He countered and saw the boy smirk.

"I haven't made a decision yet." The boy said, skipping the idle chatter. "It depends on your answer to my proposal."

"Proposal?" He asked warily. The last proposal had ended with the boy controlling his own ship as just a Lieutenant Commander. Sure, Sengoku hadn't had reason to regret it, but that was probably because he hadn't wanted to look too deep into what he was using that freedom for.

"Mm. You've been Fleet Admiral for two years now." He began and Sengoku frowned. "I hate to ask for special favors, but as I am, there are certain…restrictions…to the amount of good we can do when our own are the problem."

He raised a brow. "You could report them to me."

"What good does that do when they're killing innocent civilians NOW?" He demanded. "The three-peat rule is against the civilians here. Several have been isolated to the point of not having indoor plumbing! We're in the weakest ocean, Ojii-san, yet bounty holders are on the rise. WHY? I want to show you something." He created a Room and suddenly they were on the nearby island.

He stared at the village in shock, every single building on its head. "What the hell happened here?!"

"We uncovered the scenes of twenty-seven deaths." He replied. "VIOLENT deaths. But it wasn't until we looked farther,"

They were suddenly in front of a giant tiered building with the name of Arlong Park. He took the sheet of paper he was handed and frowned. Twenty million Beri bounty. Stationed. With their name emblazoned for all the world to see.

He HATED times like this.

"I already have the pirates in custody." His boy told him. "Not even the townspeople know we're here. The base on Mango Island won't have any warning."

Or time to destroy evidence.

"How common is this?" He asked, now knowing why his rank had been brought up.

"Very. This is just the East, yet still we've come across almost ten."

"Almost?"

"The Captain was the problem. He's no longer a problem." He replied.

Sengoku sighed—he really needed to start keeping a closer eye on things—and said, "Fine. You've shown to be a very good judge of character. You will become a division that reports directly to me—give me a week to iron out the details. For now…act as you see fit."

And they were back on the ship.

Cora kicked back, feet once again propped on the table. "I already have. Bribery. Twenty-seven VIOLENT deaths for MONEY." He said in disgust.

Sengoku sat down and accepted a drink from one of the chefs. "Thank you." He took a sip of the coffee—just how he liked it—before focusing on Cora. "That's just the ones that left a mark."

The boy scowled. "These are the pirates I hate with every fiber of my being, aided by the Marines I hate even more. Don't expect more than heads for the pirates, IDs for the Marines."

He hummed. "Just be careful, Cora-chan. Is that all for business?"

"For now." He replied with a smile. "How've you been?"

They caught up.

The boy was a closely-kept secret that not even the Gorosei knew about. Both figured it was better to deal with their bitching after the fact than wait for the go-ahead, so the anonymity worked in their favor. Potential headaches were always reported with general information, considered a lapse in judgement on whomever sent in the report. Little tricks kept them in the shadows, allowing them to better do their jobs.

It also let Cora vent his hatred of the Marines in a manner that cleansed their reputation—a win-win. And true to the boy's prediction, crime rates began to lower significantly in the purged areas. He knew they were making a breakthrough.

Then, trouble began to brew when the boy found out about the auction house on Sabaody.

After nearly an hour solid of yelling, the boy calmed down enough for Sengoku to say, "Celestial Dragons."

That was all that was necessary, but the boy's expression didn't become resigned at all. "Fax me every single law concerning them."

So he did. He had to pull some strings (God that sounded like the pink bastard) in the Gorosei, but then Cora had everything.

He grinned. "Excellent. I'll call you back when I've made progress."

Then Sengoku was left with growing anxiety. He'd seen that grin on Garp several times.

Always when he was about to do something very stupid.

Cora sat in the stands of the auction house. He'd heard all ten of the Supernova were on the island and wondered if they would help or hinder his operation.

He leaned back in his seat, leg crossed over the other with one arm around his nodachi and the other resting on the back of the bench, elbow bent so he could chew on his cuticle. Many of the customers looked at him as if he'd stolen his Marine cap—standard issue—and Marine coat—only his epaulets were yellow with black. Granted, he was wearing the cap backwards and his goggles gave him a punk-ish look, but he even had a suit on beneath!

Okay, half a suit. Just a bright yellow dress-shirt tucked into black slacks and—so it was unbuttoned, that was just to show off his tattoo—

—okay, he looked like he stole them. Whatever. He was still a Vice Admiral, dammit.

His crew, just Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin right now, were wearing white coveralls with the Marine insignia on the backs, but it was the only tie to their Corps. On the breast of each uniform was the symbol of their division—a simplified virus cell with a smiley over the Marine logo.

Getting arrested for impersonating Marines was pretty fun. Sengoku even stopped griping about him not just showing his ID.

His attention was grabbed by the auction beginning and he sent all the money in the room to his submarine while the people were distracted.

Petty Justice…since he couldn't actually arrest anyone.

As the auction progressed, he watched the Saints in their special seats down closer to the stage and wondered how this would play out. He had several options, but he was hoping to add on as much as possible. Lisa, posing as another customer, would instigate a fight when they either bid for a person or got up to leave.

A mermaid was brought out and FINALLY they put in a bid. Three hundred million berries that would go to their finances. Damn.

"Did you get that?" He demanded.

"How could I not?"

He chuckled, but before Lisa could start, there was a crash and he turned to see a…fish? Fly by?

Lisa looked to him and he held up a finger. Wait. He identified the culprit as Monkey D Luffy, bounty three hundred million, Garp's grandson. He grinned, looked like he was in luck.

It progressed perfectly and when the kid punched Charloss, Cora had his chance. A push with his powers had Roswald shooting wild and a click followed by a stray bullet impacting his chest sealed his fate. Bepo showed him the picture, the Dragon's gun pointed directly at Cora, a second photo depicting Cora's bullet wound. Perfect.

The crowd fled en masse and he stood up as well, making his way calmly to the aisle. The boy's crew stopped their motions to aid their captain as Cora neared the boy's position and he was glad for the lack of distraction.

"Roswald." He called as the din died down. "It appears we have an issue."

"Who dares interrupt me?" The man demanded furiously, finally stopping his pointless shooting.

He smirked. "Cora, Vice Admiral. I run the First Response Inspection Division."

"What do I care?" He demanded, hidden eyes returning to the young Monkey as his grip on his rifle tightened.

With an absent swat, Cora sent the strawhatted boy flying towards the destroyed entrance. "Eyes on me, shithead." THAT got his attention real quick. "You're under arrest for the attempted enslavement of a minor, disturbing the peace, and attempting to kill a high-ranking officer of the Marine Corps. Surrender yourself now or—actually, don't. I'd like to break your face first."

"You can't do that!" The man scoffed. "I'll have your body stuffed with molten wool and mounted in my parlor!"

The man was sent flying from Cora's kick and he landed lightly on the back of their bench, ignoring the yapping mutt as he said, "You can't melt wool, dumbass. It's hair. Get better threats."

The girl exclaimed in horror before pulling out a gun and shooting Cora point-blank.

"Did you get that?" He demanded.

"How could I not?" Lisa laughed. "This bitch is mine."

A bullet snuffed out that problem as Cora caught Kikoku from Bepo (he really had to stop leaving him behind) and sliced Roswald into pieces, having the head appear in his hand.

The Den Den on his shoulder immediately began to ring and he stuck Kikoku into the only dead Saint so that he could answer it.

"CORA! What the hell do you think you're doing why have I gotten reports that you killed two Celestial Dragons?!" Sengoku shouted in fury.

"Heeey…Ojii-san!" He greeted cheerfully. "See, funny thing. If a Celestial Dragon attacks a Marine above Rear Admiral, they forfeit all diplomatic immunity and are to be held accountable for their crimes just like any other citizen. I have proof of both their crimes AND that they attacked me so…I'm just doing my job."

The snail rubbed its face angrily. "Dammit, Cora, you know it's not that simple!"

"Oh, but it is." He chuckled as he spun the head around on his finger. "And even better, given this happened on 'holy land' it has lost its neutrality and become subject to our laws once more. We are in the process of liberating those that had been enslaved as we speak. I'll have the report ready by your arrival, just give me ten minutes to assemble it."

"You're killing me kid!" He sighed. "Who was killed?"

He walked over to the unconscious Charloss and set down the older Saint. His hand crackled with electricity before he placed it to the man's head. He jolted and the voltage had his blood vessels bursting, leaving him a mottled corpse. "Sharlia was taken down when she shot me for attempting to arrest her father. Roswald is alive, I'm not done with him. Charloss seems to have died during a skirmish with Mugiwara no Luffy. The boy was not the cause."

"Tell that idiot boy to get out of there before we arrive!" Garp shouted suddenly.

He looked up at the shocked crew as his grandfather chastened the man for aiding a criminal. He stood up slowly, a smile on his face. "He was disturbing the peace. His crew were attempting to purchase an underage hostage—"

"Keimi's our friend!" The boy shouted angrily. "We came to rescue her, Torao!"

Torao? He brushed it off, pouting slightly. "Oh. In that case, take her and leave."

"Disturbing the peace! Please!" Garp scoffed. "How long's it been since you had a good fight if you're fishing for excuses?"

"Two weeks, Garp-san!" Bepo reported as Cora watched the group take not only the mermaid, but a Fishman as well.

"In that case, I'm sending you to deal with some shitheads in Elbaf—" Sengoku began but Cora cut him off.

"I don't think so! I'm not missing a war with Whitebeard!"

There was a smack and Garp yelped. "What was that for?!"

"Stop telling him such sensitive information!" The man shouted furiously before focusing on Cora. "You are NOT going to the execution! Donquixote will be there and you're not ready to face him yet!"

"I can control myself!" He protested indignantly.

"He'll recognize your Devil Fruit right away and abandon the fight! We all know he only joined to find you!"

He grit his teeth angrily. "I'm going to be there. I HAVE to be there!"

"I said no!"

Furious, he hung up the snail and ignored it when it immediately started to ring. "How's that report?" He demanded.

"Done, Sencho!" Penguin said cheerfully.

"Good. Shachi, we're going to have some engine trouble." He said.

Saluting, he ran from the building past the Strawhats.

Cora glared at them. "What are you still doing here? Get out of my way."

"We are not in your way, Torao-kun." Nico Robin, eighty million, said with a smile.

His cheer immediately returned. "Oh! You want to fight after all!"

Lisa immediately grabbed him by the ear and dragged him towards the duo. "Stop goofing off and officiate these documents before your grandfather gets here."

"I'm WORKING!" He protested. "They're pirates! 850 million berries added to our—ow!"

She removed her hand from the bullet wound. "And heal yourself before you bleed out, idiot! I'm going to gather Saint Fuckwad's pieces."

He huffed, but began to heal the holes. "Rude. I was talking. This is insubordination."

"Cite me. Your grandfather will waive it." She retorted as the pirates finally left.

That was true. Grumbling, he took the pen and began signing the various forms. By the time Sengoku and Garp arrived, he was done so he handed it over.

After reading through it, Sengoku sighed. "This will make you a target."

He grinned, unconcerned. "Let them target me. One day they'll get sloppy and then…let's go see who we've rescued." He turned to head behind stage.

His grandfather sighed and followed.

The days leading up to the execution, Cora felt… _off_. He had really strange dreams about if Sengoku hadn't found him as a child.

And his crew was acting strange too. Furtive glances, hushed conversations, worried looks directed at…at everyone.

Just like he was doing.

So, at breakfast, he asked, "Strange dreams lately?"

"Oh thank god!" Shachi shouted, clutching his head. "I thought I was going crazy!"

They all told him about dreaming of if they'd become pirates. Several were crying because Cora…was Law.

Cora was affectionate.

Cora was nice.

Cora spoke freely.

Cora was _**happy**_.

Law was not. Not at all and it broke their hearts.

Cora couldn't apologize for Law's demeanor, so he tried to explain it. Explain how he didn't look for friends because he was training to go down WITH Doflamingo.

None of them liked his reasoning. CORA didn't like his reasoning!

But he understood. His crew got unbearable for a while as they remembered more and more each night until he understood Torao.

He was livid. He hadn't questioned it before, but suddenly he could see what his grandfather was doing and he didn't like it.

There wasn't enough time. He couldn't spin this in his favor. He had no choice. He explained his decision to his crew and they agreed that it was his only choice, so during the war with Whitebeard, the submarine surfaced in plain view and he stepped out onto the deck.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped off the ship and it immediately submerged, leaving him alone as they went to go get rid of Kuzan's Ice Age. He was at the back of the battle, only those still on the ships behind him and if he'd been here as a Marine, it would have been all they needed to win.

He looked up at his grandfather and saw the apprehension on his face. Shaking, he began to walk forward, not touching either side as he made his way to the platform. Several pirates attempted to attack his back, but the Marines leapt to his defense and he realized...

He knew everyone here.

So many betrayed.

Taking another deep breath, he stopped and looked up at his grandfather. He activated the Den Den Mushi baby on his shoulder and saw the man answer his own. He swallowed before saying firmly, "I can't let this happen."

"What do you mean?" He demanded warily.

"You didn't tell me you were only executing him because he's Gold Roger's son!" He exclaimed, the burn of betrayal in his own chest. "I rechecked his file—he's BARELY capped half a billion! Why are you executing him as if he were someone important?!"

He saw the realization cross the man's face. That Cora wasn't here to help the Marines.

He was here as a traitor.

Cora swallowed thickly, shaking harder as the man's face went blank. "I can't let this happen. There's no justice in executing someone for being born!"

"This will make you a traitor boy!" Garp shouted in a hoarse voice. "Stop this idiocy! Just walk away!"

"I never turn my back when injustice runs rampant." He said sharply. "And the last time I ran was when you turned your guns on my people to hide what you did to my ancestors!" He created his Room.

"Cora no!" Sengoku shouted, but not because the Firefist was freed.

Doflamingo landed in front of him. "That power…you possess the Ope Ope no Mi…"

Kikoku was in his hand just in time to block the man's strings. All fear left him as he faced down his ex-captain.

He grinned.

"Cora NO! Goddamn it!" Sengoku shouted as he made to jump off the platform.

Garp yanked him back. "Don't aid the traitor, Fleet Admiral."

"Cora, was it?" The Shichibukai queried, a grin blooming on his own face. "Or _Law_?"

"Doffy." He greeted with a wide grin.

"I've been searching for you. Come back to the family." The man said. "You won't be punished for Rocinante abducting you."

"I'd rather die." He scoffed before leaping forward.

Something snagged his collar and he was surprised when he was pulled over the sea of Marines to the…Moby Dick?

The source of his abduction caught him bridal style and he huffed. "I could have taken him, Mugiwara-ya."

Luffy grinned as a wall of flames covered the rest of the retreating pirates, the commanders taking out anyone that tried to cross the boundary. "Talk's one thing, Torao. But if you'd landed a hit, you'd really be a traitor. Now you've just been kidnapped."

"You are SO grounded." Sengoku growled through the snail. "You'd better have a good excuse by the time you 'escape'!"

Cora smiled. "I'll see you as soon as I can, Ojii-san. I love you."

He hung up the stricken snail and kissed it affectionately before tucking it away again.

When they cleared the gates, he made Luffy put him down before turning to look at him with a smile. "What did you do?"

"You're not allowed to die, Torao." He said with a shrug. "I can't be King without you, so I started over." He scratched his neck. "Only our crews remember though. We couldn't agree on anyone else." Then he looked up at him curiously. "You're a Marine now, though? How'd that happen?"

He chuckled. "Ojii-san found me when I was…thirteen. He convinced me that the Marines was the last place Doffy would look for me. I joined to get better training and, well, I've been able to make a difference. From Marines in the East Blue accepting money in exchange for pirates' freedom to crime syndicates in the North Blue protected by the Celestial Dragons—I've taken them down and crime rates are at the lowest they've been in decades!"

Luffy grinned, hugging him tightly. "I'm glad you found a way to help!"

Cora smiled and hugged him back, pressing his cheek to the boy's wild hair and closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feel of his loving Haki.

"Why would you throw that away for me?"

Surprised, he looked up to see the young Firefist.

Luffy pulled back too. "Oh yeah. You were so excited to fight Big Ossan. Why'd you change your mind?" He asked curiously.

He hummed. "Because he didn't deserve a public execution. He hasn't DONE anything to warrant it—I mean, hell, we've got Shiki in Impel Down! You're nothing special."

"Ouch." The man chuckled. "Well, thank you." He bowed.

"You're welcome, I guess?" He said awkwardly before turning back to Luffy. "Oh my god, I thought Ojii-san was going to kill me! Or worse, hate me! I was shaking!" he shuddered and rubbed his arms. "I'm gonna have to make it up to him somehow. I know! I'll call him Jii-chan!"

"Great idea!" Luffy said excitedly. "And meat! Nothing says 'I'm sorry' like a meat basket!"

He considered it and grinned, shaking his head as he wagged his finger. "No, no, I'll send that to Garp. No, I'll send Jii-chan seafood platters. They're his favorite! He says my cooks make the best fish he's ever tasted! Great idea, Mugiwara-ya!"

The boy grinned happily, linking his fingers behind his head.

Then the deck began to shake as someone approached and he turned to see the Yonko himself. Excitement filled him as he adjusted his grip on Kikoku, but then he saw that the man was injured. Disappointment filled him. "Ah, we can't fight if you're hurt."

"I could take a brat like you." The man scoffed.

"I don't fight opponents not injured by me." He brushed off.

"You could heal him and then fight!" Luffy pointed out.

"That's against my code of honor." He frowned. "If I heal him, that makes him my patient and I don't fight my patients."

Luffy scrunched up his face. "Guess you can't fight then."

He shrugged and sheathed Kikoku. "Oh well. Sorry about the trespassing, Shirohige-ya. I'll be off your ship as soon as mine arrives."

Luffy immediately glomped him. "Aw, what? Don't go yet, Torao! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, but I've got to spin this clusterfuck to my advantage somehow." He said. "I didn't have enough time to search for a justification for my actions and Jii-chan is going to be pissed if he has to mark me as a traitor!"

"You don't have to do it today! You're Big Ossan's hostage to get away!" Luffy exclaimed.

After a moment, Cora relaxed. "I suppose there's no real rush. But I can't impose on Shirohige-ya longer than necessary."

"You saved my son." The Yonko reminded them he was there. "You will always be welcome on my ship. What is your name?"

"I'm Cora." He said, holding out his hand to shake. "And don't act like I did it for your son. I did it because it was the right thing to do."

"Apparently I'm nothing special." The Firefist said in amusement.

"You're not." Cora scoffed. "Two years in the Grand Line and you're only 550 million? Get your ass in gear."

"Right!" Luffy laughed. "I'm gonna catch up if you don't hurry up, Ace! I'm already at 300!"

"Well, I'm a Vice Admiral, so I win." Cora said playfully.

"I could wipe the floor with you!" The Firefist growled.

"You're injured and malnourished." Cora scoffed. "Challenge me when you're not half-dead."

"Ah, that's right! We've just got our son and brother back! Let's party!" Whitebeard boomed and in moments, everyone was celebrating.

Laughing, Luffy and Cora joined in.

It was late and the party was starting to die down. Cora had retreated to the old man's room to have some quiet as he sludged through the piles of laws, codes, and court case rulings. Yawning, he rubbed his cheek and shook his head. Picking up another file, he read through it as he took a sip of coffee. He set it aside as a maybe.

"Are you going to watch me the whole night?" He asked Luffy as he picked up another.

The boy was laying on the Yonko's bed, chin pillowed on his arms as he kicked his legs idly in the air. He looked the most content Cora could ever remember seeing him. "I still can't believe you're alive. I love you."

Cora swallowed, wrong, coughing and wheezing as he tried to get the liquid out of his lungs. When he could breathe again, he realized the boy was laughing.

He threw a pen at him. "Don't say things like that so suddenly!"

Luffy just giggled. "Do you love me, Torao?"

Rubbing his red cheeks, he turned back to his paperwork. After a moment, he mumbled, "Yeah, I love you too."

Laughing in delight, Luffy rocketed into his back, knocking off both of their hats in the process. "Aw, Torao's blushing! Is he embarrassed?" He teased as he cupped Cora's face.

He huffed. "Don't be cheeky, Mugiwara-ya. I need to get this done—"

Luffy moved to straddle his lap, grinning at him. "It'll all work out, Torao! And if you don't do it, you don't have to leave!"

Cora rubbed his head, frowning. "It's not like we'll never see each other again. Just, what, two years?"

"But that's forever!" He exclaimed, grasping the goggles and yanking them off.

Cora huffed slightly, but didn't complain. "You'll be so busy training it'll pass in a blink." He tapped his nose with a smile. "You have to catch up to me. I'm way beyond Zou levels right now and you're, what, mid-skip?"

Luffy scowled. "Don't rub it in."

Leaning down, he nuzzled his nose affectionately. "I'm not. Your crew is training right now. You should be too. I'll visit a few times."

Luffy pressed back, their foreheads resting together. "Promise?"

"I promise." He said with a smile.

Sighing, the boy shifted so that Cora could continue working. "Why did you say your name's Cora?"

"It is. I changed it to hide from Doffy." He replied. "It was Jii-chan's idea."

"Smart. But why Cora? Is it for Cora-san?" He asked.

"Mhm."

The boy giggled. "That's weird."

"Like you're one to talk about normal, Mr. I-have-a-living-skeleton-and-robot-and-a-talking-tanuki-on-my-crew"

"Chopper's a reindeer, Torao."

He scoffed.

Silence fell as he muddled through the papers. The boy dozed lightly against his chest and honestly, it helped him concentrate having him where he could see him.

About fifty years ago, he hit the jackpot. A public execution was interrupted because their bounty was less than half of the worst criminal in Impel Down's.

He called his grandfather, a grin on his face. "I found it, Jii-chan. A law put in place by the Dragons themselves. Pirates cannot be executed publicly if there are criminals in Impel Down with bounties twice as high."

The man sighed. "Finally, I can execute these bastards. Stay safe, Cora-chan, and fax me those papers in the morning."

"I can do it now." He replied, reaching over to rouse the snail. He typed in the code and scanned the paper.

After a moment, the man chuckled. "Looks like your luck held out this time, kid. Take a few days off, then come in to HQ for your assignment to Elbaf."

"Sweet! I love fighting the giants! They're so funny!" He laughed happily. "See you in three days, Jii-chan. I love you."

"I love you too, punk. Stop trying to get out of your punishment by buttering me up." The man grumbled halfheartedly before hanging up.

Smiling, he created a room and sent all of his papers to his ship before he stood up, careful not to wake Luffy, and headed to the deck. Spotting the Firefist, he walked over, seeing he was with the Yonko. He grinned when they looked at him. "I'm done with your room, Shirohige-ya. Thanks again. Hiken-ya, where do I put him to bed?"

"Holy crap, how old are you?" Ace demanded in shock as he stood up.

Blinking, he cocked his head to the side. "I'm twenty-three. Why do you want to know?"

"You're a freaking kid!" He exclaimed. "How the hell are you a Vice Admiral?!"

"I trained hard." What kind of question was that? "And I'm going to train even harder now that Doffy knows I'm alive! I think I can beat him, but I need to be SURE."

"I can't wait to fight you." The man said excitedly as he led him towards the doors.

Suddenly Penguin leapt out from a doorway and took a picture of them, giggling. "Sencho, you're so cute!"

Blushing, Cora chuckled. "Go to sleep, Penguin, you're so drunk."

"I KNOW!" He laughed happily. "I beat Izo-san in a drinking contest! Did you know he's a guy? He's SO pretty!" He headed out, hopefully towards the ship.

Laughing, they headed further into the ship and arrived unimpeded at the man's room. Cora walked over to the bed and carefully laid his ally down.

But the boy stirred, immediately reaching out to cling to him. "No don't go Torao I missed you!" He cried.

Oh, those tears broke his heart. He tried to brush them away. "Hey, hey, don't cry. I'm just going to my ship to sleep. I promise we won't leave yet. I've got two days to catch up with you before I have to report to Jii-chan. I'm not going anywhere."

But the boy didn't stop crying and he didn't know what to do.

"You can sleep in here." The Firefist suddenly said. "I have to stay in the medical bay anyway."

"Thank you." He said gratefully before he kicked off his shoes and carefully joined him on the bed. He continued to shush him and murmur gently until the tears calmed and he slipped into sleep.

Sighing in relief, he shifted his hold and then joined him in dreamland.

When he woke up, fingers were tracing the line of his nose, a thumb brushing his lips. They stroked along the curve of his cheek before thumbs smoothed his eyebrows. After a few repeats, they hooked on his jaw and turned his head towards them. Soft lips pressed to his forehead gently and he sighed softly, content. Then they pressed to his nose and he giggled slightly.

Then they pressed to his lips and he hummed, reaching up to wrap his arms around his ally as he parted his lips for the boy's tongue. Silence fell as they kissed languidly, comfortable and content to take their time enjoying this new facet of their relationship.

The boy's stomach growling had them breaking apart with soft laughter.

"Can I wear your coat?" Luffy asked as they set out to find a bathroom.

"Hm? Sure." He took it off and draped it over the much smaller boy's shoulders. "Aw, you look like a kid playing dress-up." He teased.

"At least I don't look like I STOLE it!" He shot back and Cora laughed.

"Oh, I know. Jii-chan gets so mad whenever I'm arrested for impersonating a Marine. It's hilarious!"

"So why don't you…you know, make yourself look more Marine-like?" He asked.

He scoffed. "I don't want to be intimidating. When they're higher up the ladder, people get too scared to ask them for help. Or worse, they believe I'll just brush them off as unimportant like the corrupt bastards in the upper echelons of our organization. I've found that my coat is just enough to gain their trust while my careless attire assures them that if I AM just impersonating a Marine, well, maybe I'll take down the ones making their lives hell." He shrugged slightly. "Which is great since the only reason I stayed with the Marines was because I made a deal with Jii-chan that gave me the power to take down corrupted officials. It's my damn lifeblood!" He laughed as he pulled on his goggles and hat.

They reached the bathroom and after taking turns, Cora using his room to clean their teeth, Luffy said, "I'm really happy you're so happy, Torao. You're making the Marines good again."

Smiling at the boy's warm smile, he leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I'm just taking it one battle at a time. Most of the time I still capture Pirates—oh shit we've still got Beckett in the brig—!"

He bolted from the ship leaving Luffy laughing happily behind him.

After making sure the man hadn't been injured (Marcus chastising him for thinking they'd forget to feed the prisoner) he returned to the Moby Dick where Luffy was sitting in his brother's lap. He smiled at the sight and took a picture before either noticed him.

Luffy perked up but didn't make a move to get up. "Torao! So how's Bucket?"

"Beckett." He corrected before chuckling sheepishly. "He's perfectly fine. My crew was on the ball like always. I'd lose my head if it wasn't firmly rooted to my shoulders!" He laughed.

Luffy giggled in amusement.

He turned to the Yonko. "Hey, Shirohige-ya. How are your wounds holding up?"

"I'll survive." The man replied. "What had you running off in such a hurry?"

He blushed, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "Ah, I forgot we captured a pirate before hitting the Archipelago a week ago. I didn't know if anyone else forgot so…I got kinda worried." He chuckled.

"Shishishi, you're such an airhead, Torao!"

Cora stuck his tongue out at him. "I hope you don't mind me hanging out a couple more days, Shirohige-ya. I want to spend a little more time with Mugiwara-ya before I go back to HQ."

"Stay as long as you like." The man replied jovially. "We DID have some questions for you, if you don't mind."

He perked up. "I don't mind! Shoot!"

"Is it true you killed three Celestial Dragons and got away with it?" Firefist asked immediately.

He clapped. "Oh, that's my favorite! No! I killed two, the third is in progress!" He laughed as their disappointed faces turned to shock. "Apparently they're not as untouchable as they like to think! The law was signed into effect by every single one of their ancestors so even if the Roswald family were alive, they couldn't do shit because he had them kick out the Donquixote line! It needs every single descendent to sign it if they want to get rid of it!"

"Ew, Mingo was a Celestial Dragon?" Luffy asked in disgust.

"His father wanted to be more in touch with the common-folk and Saint Fuckwad had them cast out for it." He smiled serenely. "Poetic Justice at its finest."

"Did you also rob a thousand people blind and get away with it?" Izo queried.

"Ah, incorrect." He denied. "I confiscated that money due to their dabbling in illicit activities." He waved a hand negligently. "I was well within the law."

"You are the most pirate-like Marine I have ever met." The Yonko chuckled. "Why did you choose this path?"

He shrugged. "I had no choice when I started. When Doffy killed my dad, I had to hide before he managed to tangle me up in his strings. Jii-chan found me and convinced me that the last place he'd look is in the Corps. We had a deal that if I still wanted to be a pirate when I turned nineteen, he'd let me." He rubbed his neck, looking to the side wistfully. "It was tempting. I was strong enough to escape if Doffy ever found me, but…" he thought of all the faces that lit up when they saw him coming. All the children that looked up at him in awe, unafraid, their parents not rushing them away. He smiled. "But I could do so much more as a Marine if I was given the power to do it, so…in exchange for me staying, Jii-chan gave me what I needed. I don't have to arrest people just because of their criminal status and I don't have to turn a blind eye to Marines abusing their power just because they're one of ours. Honestly, I couldn't wish for a better place to be than where I am." He grinned happily. "I get to kill everything I hate about both factions after all! It's great!"

"You've got a lot of power for a brat." The Yonko chuckled. "How have you stayed hidden all these years?"

"Jii-chan." He said simply. "I was the ace up his—oh my god, you could fit in his sleeve!" He pointed at the startled Firefist before laughing hysterically.

Luffy laughed too, so the red-faced man threw him at Cora furiously. "That stopped being funny three YEARS ago!" when they continued laughing, he started to flare up. "Shut up before I decide to roast you both alive!"

Both leapt to their feet but before Cora could get in a stance, Luffy pulled him with him as he ran, both still laughing. Growling, Ace chased them getting yelps and even louder laughter to ring out over the deck.

"What's the matter, Hiken-ya? I guess you didn't ACE your accuracy exam?" The young Marine teased after a few minutes of evasion.

"I'LL END YOU!"

Whitebeard chuckled as he watched the trio play a game of glorified tag that spanned the entire ship. Every time Ace managed to corner one, the other would rescue them and tease him into pursuing them instead.

It was amusing.

"They're good kids." Marco said fondly. "I'm glad he's found happiness, yoi. Although his alias is…strange."

"Why? What's his real name?" Haruta asked curiously.

"I'm sure he'd tell you if you asked, yoi." He replied. "But Cora is short for Corazon, his father's codename when he was spying on the Donquixote Pirates, yoi. He used to call him Cora-san because of it."

"Oh, that's so sweet." Izo said.

"Corazon?" Whitebeard rumbled with a frown. "His father was one of the executives?"

"Mm." He confirmed. "His real name was Donquixote Rocinante."

They were shocked by that plot twist.

"Wait, the guy calls him Doffy still." Haruta said. "That's pretty affectionate for someone that murdered your father."

"It's not an affectionate nickname." He denied. "Doffy is just what the inner family were allowed to call him to put them above the armies, yoi. It's just a habit, like us calling Blackbeard Teach."

"So he was part of the main family?" Izo mused. "He must have been a powerful kid."

Marco snorted. "He was weak as a kitten because he was dying, poisoned by the World Government. They trained him, but it was more for his potential if he recovered than any strength he had at the time, yoi. But his father didn't believe they'd find the Ope Ope no Mi in time so he kidnapped him, taking him all over the North Blue for six months in search of a cure. He didn't find one and Cora only had weeks to live. But then, from Sengoku, Rocinante heard the fruit had been found and double crossed both his brothers and the Marines, managing to steal it and feed it to Cora."

"And not two hours later, Doffy murdered him." Cora said, startling the group. They couldn't see his eyes, but they could feel the rage not betrayed by his face in the boy's Haki. "So I'm going to get stronger and then, I'm going to get my revenge."

Luffy laced their fingers together and hugged his arm with the other, nuzzling it. "Just don't go without me. I wanna watch you kick his ass."

Puzzlement overtook the rage. "What do you mean? You're going to help me. It'll be fun. Our first date."

"WHAT?!" Ace shouted as Marco said,

"I don't think that's a proper date, yoi."

"That's an AWESOME date idea!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

"You can't date my baby brother! You're a Marine!" Ace shouted.

Cora brushed it off. "You can't decide that."

"Ace, calm down." Luffy huffed. "We HAVE to date."

"Why?" He demanded warily.

"Cuz we can't get married if we don't date!"

"Eh? Married? When did you decide that?" Cora asked curiously.

"Right now!" he said happily.

He shrugged. "Okay."

"This meeting is a whirlwind, yoi." Marco chuckled a bit breathlessly.

"You can't just decide that!" Ace shouted angrily, flames already sprouting on various parts of his body.

"We decided." Both said flippantly and Ace let out a shout, tackling the Marine.

Cora rolled, kicking him off and using the momentum to spin to his feet so he could dodge the next attack. But instead of just evading like before, he followed up with a kick that sent Ace skidding several dozen yards, a grin on his face as he followed after.

Ace barely dodged and went for a physical attack, but to their shock Cora didn't even wince.

The fight was a short one, ending with Cora sitting on the man, still grinning. "I told you, Hiken-ya. Challenge me when you're not on death's door."

Ace went red. "I'm already almost fully healed!"

"You're strong, Hiken-ya, but you're nowhere near your full potential." He told him. "I've heard stories and…when you train, believing your only destiny is to die…you stagnate. I can see it in you, that will to live. Get your head away from the mentality that you have to die and your improvement will be explosive. Train, and when you feel like you can win, challenge me again. Maybe next time you'll actually do some damage."

Ace growled as Cora stood up but accepted the hand up. "It burns that I can't even rough you up. You don't deserve my baby brother."

"I know." He replied. "But for some reason, he still wants me. He's an angel."

Luffy grabbed them both in a choking hug. "Both of you need to shut up! I like Torao cuz he's worth it! You'll see!"

Ace huffed, getting free. "Fine, but no sex till you're married!"

Luffy looked at Ace curiously as Cora made a face. "What's sex?"

Ace opened his mouth to answer only to decide Cora's reaction was easier. "What's with that face?"

He scoffed. "No worries on that front. I don't have the ability to get it up. Besides, it's unsanitary and really, is a few minutes of relaxation really worth the chance of someone taking advantage of your vulnerable state? Someone could kill us if they time it right!"

Luffy frowned as Ace retreated with a mutter of 'TMI' and looked at Cora. "I don't understand."

"It's almost like you were raised by mountain bandits or something." Cora teased lightly before ruffling his hair. "Let's go over there and I'll explain."

They watched the duo walk a few yards away for some relative privacy and they sat across from each other as the Marine began to talk too low to hear. The boy listened intently, frowning in places, looking thoughtful in others and when he asked a question, they were kind of disappointed they couldn't hear.

Then the man brought an easel from—somewhere—with detailed drawings of male and female genitalia.

"Oh my god!" Ace exclaimed. "Don't show him that!"

The Marine flicked him off, not even pausing his lesson. And despite his obvious disgust for the act, he was professional and answered every question with patience and without judgement. Clearly, it'd moved on to pregnancy because he'd taken off the poster to reveal drawings of a fetus through its development over nine months. He pitched his voice now so that everyone could hear and drew a curious crowd and they were taken through a VERY detailed depiction of the miracle of life.

Including AFTER the birth. Several of the crew got sick and they were all sickened by how gory the act actually was.

It wasn't a lesson they'd soon forget. Marco was right, this meeting was a whirlwind.

Too soon the two days were over and it was time for Cora to take off. He spent several minutes comforting his crying ally before handing him a Den Den Mushi.

He brushed the tears from his eyes with a warm smile. "I'll only be a call away, Luffy-ya. And in a few months, I'll drop by for a visit. Get stronger for me, Sweetheart. I'll test you when I do."

Luffy's cheeks were red as he giggled slightly. "You called me sweetheart."

Blushing himself at the slip, he scoffed. "You're hearing things. Call me if you have a problem."

After giving his farewells, he made sure everyone was aboard before they started towards Sabaody to do a sweep. But then, his snail rang and surprised, he answered it.

"I have a problem..." The boy said in a wobbly voice.

"What is it?" He asked in concern.

"I miss you!" He cried and it broke Cora's heart.

He didn't know what to do.

"Captain." Bepo said quietly. "He can train with us."

Luffy gasped and the hopeful look on his face was too much for Cora's frazzled nerves.

"Fine." He finally said. "Hiken-ya, I'm confiscating your brother. Take the snail." He created his room and brought the boy to the sub, catching his hug and holding him through his tears.

"Fine, but I expect calls every week!" Ace huffed. "Take care of him, Cora-san."

He tightened his arms around the boy. "I promise. You get stronger, Hiken-ya. He needs you too." He hung up before carrying the boy to his seat on the navigation deck. "Get us to Sabaody."

After nearly twenty minutes, the boy recovered enough to ask, "What's at Sabaody?"

"Several rookie crews that think they can fly under my radar." He chuckled. "It should only take me about half an hour. While I do that, Bepo will introduce you to our training regimen and get you started. I'll join you when I get back."

Smiling, Luffy curled up against him. "I love you, Torao."

He kissed his hair. "I love you too, Luffy-ya."

They had three hours before they reached the Archipelago. It would be plenty of time for Luffy to calm down.

It went well. After they placed him at Commodore level, they were able to develop a regimen to help him get stronger. Mostly by adding various quantities of kairoseki to the mix.

By the first month, the improvement was obvious.

By the second, the boy was infatuated with it.

The third through fifth had the fervor dying down a bit and after that, the improvement levelled out to a steady incline.

Luffy was his little secret and when he completed missions—his own or assigned by Sengoku—the boy stayed in the sub. Once a week, they'd find an island for them to spar on and explore, or just relax in the sand. It was nice to just hang out with each other. No training, no kingdoms to save, no villains to fight.

But then the sixth month ended and the boy felt ready to train alone. So, they took him to the island he wanted and left him with two snails, the one for Ace and the one for Cora. And with one last kiss, Cora headed back into the world to do his job.

With VIGOR.

After his stunt with the Celestial Dragons, they found the 'perfect' way to get their revenge.

"I've been WHAT?!" He shouted in alarm.

Sengoku sighed, rubbing his head. "Promoted to Admiral. For your 'outstanding accomplishments' in bringing order and peace to our organization and the world. There will be a ceremony. You HAVE to attend, Cora. You will be receiving several awards and medals that you will be required to wear from that point on. Your face will be in papers all over the world with very detailed accounts of your deeds."

It took all Cora had not to shout and rage and maybe break that stupid grinning clock hanging on the wall. Those pissy little crybabies, ruining all the hard work he'd put into staying relatively unknown enough to easily complete his missions!

But then he sighed, letting it go. "Four Admirals at once, what the hell bullshit is that. I liked being Vice Admiral!" he went to flop down in the chair. "This is stupid."

"Very mature." Sengoku chuckled though he looked like he agreed. "We can't deny them and the papers are already being sent out…along with details of your past."

He sat up quickly in alarm. "What?!"

He held up a hand. "THAT I was able to edit just enough to spin your stint with the pirates as a tragic tale ending in redemption—that it's never too late to stop being a pirate."

He huffed, sitting back. "And Flevance?"

"The truth is out." He promised. "It's being pinned on the former administration and, rightfully, on the late Roswald family. When will you turn over his body, by the way?"

"When his screams stop amusing me." He huffed moodily.

The man snorted. "Well, if you think the rest of it is stupid, you're going to love this. Your codename? Hyosube."

"Oh my god!" He exclaimed as the man laughed. "I HATE eggplants!"

The man just laughed harder.

The ceremony went without incident. Medal of Honor for his 'brave' action of taking down a Celestial Dragon that had gone rogue (Though the story released was 100% fake), the Distinguished Service medal, the Navy Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Expeditionary medal, Good Conduct medal, and pretty much every ribbon he should have received during his secret campaign but couldn't be awarded.

It was frustrating and pointless, but he kept his game-face on through it all and made it through without making a fool of anyone. And thankfully, he didn't have to wear every single medal, just the ribbons.

Surprisingly, the Celestial Dragons' plan backfired on them because he was more popular than ever.

Luffy giggled when Cora told him about how Marines and Civilians alike were now calling his no-longer-personal Den Den Mushi to report their colleagues/neighbors/superiors/noblemen/pirates. It made his job 300X easier.

"I guess you've been busy then." He rolled on top of Cora and started a kiss that had him relaxing against the giant mushroom acting as his backrest.

It was all that was left of the island they'd gone to spar and that was because they were going to use it for supper. The island it came from was gone, so they'd retired to the ship to just soak in the sun. His ally had gotten stronger, mid-Vice Admiral at least and he was proud of him.

Luffy made a quiet sound of enjoyment as Cora's hands began rubbing his bottom in a motion more soothing than arousing. He shifted during the kiss and both realized he was getting hard at the same time.

He tried to pull away in alarm, but Cora didn't let him, murmuring, "It's okay. Keep going."

"B-but you don't like this stuff…" He protested, voice wobbling as Cora didn't give him a choice. His struggles were fruitless and when he gave in, Cora shifted him to rub right against his dick. He mewled quietly, pressing harder.

"I don't like sex." He corrected. "This isn't sex. Come on, let me feel you rub against me." He all but purred as he pulled him into another kiss.

Awkward at first with the motions, they soon became fluid as he became desperate for more. Cora kept a sharp eye out for danger as his ally started losing awareness of their surroundings, but made sure to look at his face as he reached his end.

So beautiful.

Luffy collapsed against him bonelessly, panting for breath and swallowing thickly as Cora stroked his sweaty hair back, smiling contently. For several minutes, they sat in silence as the boy calmed.

"Was that your first orgasm?"

The boy hummed affirmatively. "It was awesome. You can't feel like that, Torao?" He asked, looking up at him.

He shook his head. "Not unless I stimulate the area in my brain manually using my Room. It's not worth the vulnerability to me."

"I like it. A lot." He replied. "When can I do it again?"

Cora smiled in amusement. "Give your body a few minutes to recover and you should be able to do it again."

Yawning, the boy curled up against him to wait but ended up falling asleep instead.

Amused, Cora dozed off as well.

His journey over all six oceans following leads kept him so busy doling out justice that the second year passed in a blur.

"Come meet us on Sabaody, Torao! I haven't told anyone you remember so you can surprise them!"

Oh, he'd surprise them alright. He'd strike the fear of god into them.

He watched using Observation Haki as one by one, they all arrived at the archipelago. Luffy's ride, Boa Hancock, was more than happy to spend quality time with her friend even though she understood his heart was Cora's.

Honestly, he liked the woman and even before he remembered, respected her hatred of men by never visiting her in person. Chloe and Lisa were his messengers of choice with Hannah as a last resort because she IDOLIZED the Empress.

And though Luffy was a bit miffed at having to put off meeting his crew, he didn't argue and last he heard, they were playing with the other women on the crew.

Unfortunately, Cora had to abandon his plan when the damn crew refused to stick together and he told the woman to go ahead and let him go. He had some actual pirates to round up and according to the panicked calls from the civilians, they were the 'mean' ones.

Fate had his back though because as he worked, the Strawhats found HIM.

He turned to look at the bickering Swordsman and Cook, a grin alighting his face when he realized they didn't even NOTICE him.

"So the rumors ARE true. Strawhat Luffy is alive." He said as he loomed up behind them and their 'oh shit' looks just made him grin wider as he lifted them by the backs of their clothes. Their attacks didn't even scratch his. "I knew coming here was a good idea!"

"Goddamn it!" Both growled as they realized they were caught.

Too late Cora realized they'd unfastened their clothes and two shirtless pirates bolted from the area.

He laughed hysterically and wondered if the others would do the same.

The answer was yes.

He stepped into Shakky's bar as the group _finally_ gathered at the same time and was, once again, unnoticed. He used his room to drop their various abandoned items on their heads and the panic was instantaneous.

Luffy's laughter had them looking at him incredulously and he pointed at them as he laughed, "Traffy got you good!"

"You should all really work on your Observation Haki." Cora chuckled as he sat beside Luffy, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He nuzzled his cheek, getting a ticklish giggle from the boy.

"So why the hell did you grab my bra instead of my hair?" Nami demanded.

"I wanted to see if you'd still abandon them like Zoro-ya and Kuroashi-ya abandoned theirs." He chuckled.

"You scared me so much, Torao!" Chopper cried. "I thought I had to get a new bag!"

"That was SUPER uncool, Torao-bro!" Franky exclaimed at that.

"If I had really not remembered, none of you would have gotten away." He said in amusement. "So a new bag would have been the least of your worries, Pirate-ya." He brushed it off. "The place is crawling with Marines if you hadn't noticed. Your wannabes have been making enough waves that even though we know they aren't the real you, we needed to bring in the big guns. Only this morning we heard about the rally and they've attracted some big names. Luckily, because of Luffy-ya, I was in the area so the situation isn't that hopeless—still, this isn't my fucking job so I don't see why the Vice Admirals couldn't be sent—"

"Hang on! Those cuffs!" Nami shouted in alarm. "You're an ADMIRAL?!"

"WHAT?!" The others shouted in shock, Robin starting to hyperventilate.

Alarmed by the woman's reaction, he held up his hands quickly. "It's not my fault, Nico-ya! Those stupid Dragons did it to get revenge because if I became an Admiral, papers would have to do a thorough background and accomplishments issue! They tried to ruin me by baring me to the public eye—I'm a spy, it should have ruined me, but Jii-chan managed to slip in my personal Den Den so I've never been more productive!" He finished happily, but she still looked panicky.

"Robin, he's still Torao." Luffy said when he realized the woman was still scared. "Ask him anything."

After a moment, she said, "Take off your goggles."

Confused, he didn't understand how it would help, he did as she asked, setting them on the table.

"My god, you look so young." Nami said in shock.

He smiled a bit bashfully. "Yeah, turns out being on the run all your life adds on a few years."

"I liked how you were before." Luffy told him before snuggling against him. "But I like this you too. You're so soft."

"Soft? Those muscles make rocks look like cotton!" Sanji scoffed.

Luffy huffed. "I didn't mean he FEELS soft!"

Cora blushed, pressing his face into the boy's hair. "Don't spread such lies."

"Aw, I bet Torao's blushing—is he embarrassed?" Luffy teased and Cora growled before squeezing him so hard his rubber powers activated. "Gak!" he coughed before wheezing a laugh, wiggling free and dodging his grab, but Cora tackled him. They played around for a few minutes, Cora laughing when the boy would flip him over his head before pouncing on him. He lost his coat during the skirmish and retaliated by stealing the boy's sash, using it to bind his wrists before he started to tickle him.

Soon the boy was almost screaming with laughter.

"Really? The Marines are gathering in full-force and you idiots are still playing around?"

Both looked up at the voice and Luffy brightened, kicking away from Cora. "ACE!"

The man caught his little brother with a grin. "Heya, Luffy."

"Wait, did you say the Marines are gathering?" Cora demanded. "Crap, I can't be seen with you brats! Later!" He grabbed his coat and goggles before booking it from the bar.

"H-hey! Get back here, Cora! I came to fight you!" Ace shouted.

He turned so fast he nearly got whiplash. "You wanna fight me?" He asked eagerly.

The man grinned. "Yeah! And this time I'm gonna do some damage!"

"Not here!" Luffy protested. "We need Sabaody to reach Fishman Island, don't destroy it!"

Cora hummed thoughtfully. "It IS good for catching rookie crews off-guard."

Marines started gathering at the other end of the street.

Ace grinned. "Luffy, go! I'll catch up in a few days."

"Big talk, Portgas." Cora chuckled as he pretended to ignore the Strawhats as they ran by.

Then he grabbed Zoro, using Luffy's scarf to bind them by the wrist and he landed a kick that sent them both flying. A wall of fire 'kept' him from pursuing them before Ace was attacking and he was distracted. They put on a good show, keeping the other Marines from going after the crew and 'miraculously' managing to take their fight in just the right direction to prevent other squads from interfering.

"Hyosube-san, what are you doing?!" The Captain closest to him demanded. "The Strawhats are getting away!"

"Hm?" He turned to look at the man. "Oh, they've been on their best behavior here—so they're your problem."

"WHAT?!" They shouted incredulously.

But he noticed Ace was getting away. "Shit! Get back here, Hiken-ya!"

The chase took him to the grove where the Sunny was docked and saw it was preparing to cast off as their fight resumed.

Suddenly one of Ace's hits landed and he yelped in surprise as he was sent flying. Oops! He was lucky there was a ship in that direction and he hit hard enough to rock it.

"How dare you trespass on my vessel!"

"Eh?" He sat up rubbing his head and looked up at the Snake Empress Boa Hancock. "Oh, oops. Sorry, Boa-ya, I'm fighting Hiken-ya—" he jumped to his feet and scanned the shore only to see him on his strange boat. "AH! He's running away! Get back here, Hiken-ya!"

The man gave him the finger.

"Oh! You're my beloved Luffy's intended!" She said in surprise before sniffing haughtily. "I'll forgive you this once. Now get off my ship."

"Sorry again, bye!" He said quickly before leaping into open water where his ship was surfacing just enough for him to use the mast as a springboard. He tackled Ace with enough force to send them both skipping across the water like a stone until they hit an island.

It took him a moment to sit up and he laughed. "An island! How lucky!"

"You didn't even know there was an island?!" Ace exclaimed incredulously.

He just laughed and stood up. "Okay, we're on an island no one cares about. Let's fight!"

Grinning, the man flared out like the sun and Cora leapt at the hottest flames in the center.

The island was a barren wasteland of melted rock by the time the battle ended twelve days later. Cora was the only one standing, Ace too exhausted to move.

"I win." Cora chuckled as he stood over the downed man, shielding him from the glaring sun. "I guess that means you're under arrest."

The man looked up at him for a moment before he grinned and closed his eyes. "At least I lost fair and square this time."

Smiling, Cora took out a set of cuffs and threw him over his shoulder as he stood.

"I can't let you do that, yoi."

"Marco!" Ace shouted with a laugh. "I lost!"

The man looked at him, unimpressed. "I can see that, yoi."

Cora looked at him and finally noticed the Whitebeard pirates and Marines in a stand-off around the island. "Ah man, this was just supposed to be for fun! When did I decide to capture him?" He wondered aloud to himself.

Marco scoffed. "I don't know, but there aren't nearly enough Admirals here to win this battle. Give him to me."

He debated pretending to battle him for the younger but decided he was too tired to have much fun. Sighing, he lowered the man to the ground and removed the cuffs, tucking them in his pocket as he watched the Phoenix lift the boy up. "Hey, mind if I drop by later? I just realized you remember, you fucking asshole."

Marco smirked at him. "Give it a fortnight. Some of the crew will be steaming, yoi."

Then he was taking to the sky and Cora walked to the remains of his coat, finding Ace's bag and throwing it to the duo as they descended towards the Moby Dick. Ace caught it and flicked him off again. Smiling, he picked up his coat and found the bottom had been eaten by fire, but it looked cool so he decided not to fix it. Pulling it back on, he was pleased to find it otherwise untouched.

"Cora-san, are you alright?" The nearest ship asked as he made his way over. "Are we letting them go?"

He laughed. "There's no 'letting'. If we fight, too many lives will be lost. It's not worth it. STAND DOWN."

His voice carried on the last order and the pirates vanished beneath the waves without issue.

Time to go mingle with the crews that would have given their lives for him if he lost.

His grandfather didn't blame him for ordering the troops to stand down—though he had given him an earful about contradicting himself when he'd been so willing to throw everything away to FREE Garp's hellish grandson—but the meeting wasn't uneventful because just as he was leaving, he got a call on his Den Den Mushi.

"Torao, we've got an emergency!" Chopper's panicked voice came from the snail. "We followed a distress signal to Punk Hazard and everything was going okay but the kids are going through withdrawal from the drugs Caesar Clown's been dosing them with and I can't help them! Everybody's out there fighting Vergo and Monet and Luffy's fighting Caesar but he's going to release that big poison monster and G-5 is here with Smoker-san and—"

"Fuck." He said quietly as he bolted from the room. "Tony-ya, calm down, I'm going to give you a formula that will help ease the children's symptoms but it won't be enough to calm them down, you'll need to sedate them. Whatever you do, do NOT let them get another dose. I'll be there in an hour, just hold out for that long."

"Right! We can do that!" He said determinedly and once Cora had given him the formula, he hung up.

He created a room once he was close enough and had all of his crew appear on the ship as he did. "Punk Hazard, NOW."

They leapt into action as he sat in his chair and he cursed himself for forgetting such an important event. Of course the crew wouldn't just abandon the kids, but they'd remembered too late—who knew how badly the extra drugs had hurt the children…and the little prince? But then, hadn't Chopper said they followed a distress signal? That meant the samurai had only just arrived…

They were okay. They were still ahead of schedule.

The weapon was on the move when Cora made it to the island. He'd surfaced on the cold side and watched it eat the candy grimly. He was too late.

He landed on the cage, grinning at Luffy. "Hey there, Mugiwara-ya. Long time, no see."

"Torao-bro!" Franky cried in relief as Cora cut them all free. "Can you do anything?"

"Course I can!" He laughed brightly. "You all get inside quickly; the others are already on their way here. Oh hey, Smoker-ya." He said when he noticed the man. "Do I need to order you to play nice?"

The man grit his teeth but said, "No, sir."

Luffy forced the bars open. "Right! Let's go guys!"

That dealt with, he created a room to encompass most of the island, glad Marine him had focused more on size than control because now he had both. He brought everything living to the doors of the facility and they entered with the Strawhats holding the doors open.

As it shut, he looked at the approaching fog and examined its chemical composition. Hm, this would be harder than he thought. Cocking his head to the side, he made a face. "This was easier in theory. Let's see, ash, crater…ooh, respiratory paralysis, good thing I'm the only one seeing this…" He chuckled to himself before lifting his fingers. "Fourth time's the charm…" He twisted them and it turned…pink? "Oh no, oh no; wrong, so wrong, but it's okay, I'm closer." He tapped his chin thoughtfully and snapped. The mist vanished.

He let out a shaky laugh and put his hand to his hat with a relieved grin. "Phew, that could have killed us all. I'm so good at my job." He took out his snail and dialed. "Hey, Sweetheart, we're good. No gas except the Clown. Have fun and tell Tony-ya to show me to the children."

"Yosh! Chopper! Torao wants you!"

"Tell him we'll meet him in the playroom!" The doctor called.

"Got it, see you there." He said, using his room to enter the empty room. He set out to disinfect it, getting rid of any candies.

"Law."

He paused and turned to see the visual Den Den Mushi had activated, revealing Doffy. Another snail was facing him from Vergo's hands and he saw several other of the family in the background, still and silent shadows.

Irritated about getting snuck up on, he demanded, "What do you want? I'm busy."

The man grinned. "I'm preparing for a trip to Punk Hazard to bring you home."

"Ha! Yeah right!" He scoffed. "As if I'd lower myself to associate with a jerk like you!"

He dodged Vergo's sudden attack and retaliated with a kick that sent him through the large block tower, cubes crashing down around him, but Law was quick to follow.

"Oh, this brings back memories." He said with a grin when he had the broken and bleeding man underneath his foot. "How the times have changed. Tell me, Doffy—how is it you have a Vice Admiral doing your bidding?"

The man looked displeased. "You know very well why."

"Do I?" He asked with a smirk. "Oh yeah, he's yours, isn't he? Your spy planted in my organization."

"Well, he was. It appears his usefulness has expired." The man hummed. "I'll have to replace him."

"Do…ffy…?" Vergo gasped out in betrayal.

Cora scoffed. "Oh please, Vergo. Are you honestly shocked? You're nothing to Doffy but a pawn—to be used and disposed of as he sees fit."

"We're family…" The man rasped.

"Oh, you're FAMILY, are you? What does family mean to someone like Donquixote Doflamingo? The man that shot his father in cold blood and abandoned his brother to the streets? 'We're different'!" He mocked in a falsetto. "'He loves us!'" He scoffed in derision. "Yes he does, but love won't save you from a psychopath." He took out his pistol and cocked it. "Hey, remember when you beat me and my father near-death? You should have finished the job. Rot in hell."

He buried a bullet in his skull and the man's Haki faded with his life.

"How cruel of you, Law-chan. I'm impressed." Doffy chuckled.

"You're next, Donquixote." He said angrily. "Don't worry about tracking me down. I'm coming for you in Dressrosa."

The man grinned. "Oh? I suppose you will attempt to kill me?"

Cora grinned back sharply, all teeth and _danger_. "Oh Doffy…death will be a _mercy_ …"

Chopper peeked into the room. "A-ano…is it safe to bring the kids in, Torao?"

Alarmed, Cora quickly got rid of the corpse and blood as he asked, "They didn't catch any of that, did they?"

He shook his head. "They're waiting down the hall. When I heard the gunshot, I had them stay back."

He relaxed and smiled. "Good, I'd hate to frighten them. Let me dispose of this trash while you bring them in." He turned back to the waiting blond and approached the snail as he smiled warmly. "You murdered my father, Donquixote. I'll have my pound of flesh— _plus INTEREST_." He turned off the snail and released it from the contraption, doing the same to the other.

Then the kids came in and he got to work.

As before, the Marines he took the children to Dr. Vegapunk while Cora joined the Strawhats on the Sunny.

"Where's your crew, Torao?" Luffy asked as he curled up on Cora's lap.

"Mn, they went ahead in order to investigate Doffy's dealings in the underworld." He replied. "This will be a standard operation, personal grudges aside. The two days it takes to reach Dressrosa is more than enough time to get what we need. Remember, this time you're destroying the factory for the Tontatta tribe."

"It's like my map room at Arlong Park." Nami said. "Please, Luffy, they mean a lot to Robin."

The boy hummed. "Fine. But we Gotta do it fast so that I can help Torao! We've got a DATE!"

"Beating up the flamingo is your idea of a date?" Usopp asked incredulously.

"Isn't it great! It was Torao's idea!" Luffy said happily.

They looked at Cora in shock.

"What?" He asked in confusion. "It'll be fun, a great bonding experience, and we'll have the satisfaction of liberating an entire country by the end of it. What could be better?"

"But where's the romance?" Franky all but wailed in despair.

"It's a very romantic!" Cora protested defensively. "I invited him to help me take him down even though I'm more than capable of handling it on my own. I wanted to share the experience with him and our fighting style gets very physical when we properly sync up—it can be like dancing. And when the adrenaline wears off, it's incredibly similar to a post-orgasmic—"

"Okay that's enough!" Nami yelped, face beet red. "That's inappropriate!"

Luffy giggled in amusement as the others gave emphatic agreements. "It is!"

Silence fell over the crew as they looked at the boy in disbelief.

"How would you know?!" Usopp demanded in an ungodly pitch.

Cora chuckled. "Curiosity killed the cat, God-ya."

"Oh my god." Nami whispered. "You two…have had relations?"

"Mhm." He confirmed.

Several fainted dead away, Sanji with a nosebleed.

Smiling, Cora nuzzled Luffy's jaw and began kissing his neck to make him giggle harder. The boy squirmed as Cora began brushing his side with his fingers, laughing uncontrollably as he tried to get free. Cora let him but pounced before he got far. The game of catch and release was on and Cora was a master. They rolled around like two cats playing punctuated by one of the other bolting only to be tackled—it was great fun that lasted until dinner.

Dinner was lively as Cora cheerfully told him about his fight with Ace, but when he said he'd cuffed him to take in, their immediate displeasure surprised him.

He blinked. "What, what? Marco came and reminded me I wasn't trying to—I forgot, okay? Twelve days of fighting, I get in this zone—"

"So you could try and capture us too?" Nami demanded. "Are we going to have to watch our backs while you fight Doflamingo?!"

That…that hurt. "Of course not! We're still in an alliance—I'm still Trafalgar Law!"

"Trafalgar Law wouldn't hide amongst his Allies." Robin replied softly.

"Hide? What?" He asked in confusion.

"Your goggles. Why do you feel the need to hide your eyes from us?" She demanded.

"Guys what the heck?" Luffy demanded, but Cora tuned him out as he touched his goggles. He hadn't even remembered he was wearing them.

"You heard him! He's nothing but a Marine dog!" Nami said angrily. "He almost arrested Ace! After all the trouble you went through to save him! It'd be a death sentence if they got him again! Why are you furious?! You nearly died last time!"

This was a mistake. He should have realized when Robin reacted so strongly to his rank.

He slipped from the room as they began to argue and went to the mast where he'd spent so long watching Caesar in another life. He'd gotten too comfortable with the crew. Ah well, better to figure this out now that after they reached Dressrosa, but it would have been even better to figure it out on Punk Hazard before he trapped them in a ship with him.

Oh well, it was a big ship. He could avoid them easily enough between playing with Luffy. He wouldn't neglect his fiancé though. They could suck it up.

Stretching out his legs, he looked up at the mosaic of lights in the sky and smiled contently. This was a nice night.

Luffy flopped down beside him, shoving a plate at him. "Finish your food, Torao."

Cora handed it back. "I've had my fill, thank you. Look!" he pointed at the sky. "That's made by the gasses from the sun hitting our atmosphere. The type of air up there reacts to what the sun sent and lights up—different colors for different gasses."

"Pretty." He said and they watched the shifting lights together as Luffy finished the food.

Then the boy leaned against his arm. "I like Torao's goggles."

Oh, that was a strange ache in his chest. He rubbed at it absently as he smiled. "My Jii-chan gave them to me because my eyes are so distinctive. I had to put my hat away too, to hide. My skin recovered from the vitiligo but my eyes and hat wouldn't change, so…I got rid of them."

"But you don't have to hide anymore" He said curiously.

Cora reached up to rub his cheek affectionately. "For…ten years I lived with the knowledge that if Doffy found me, nothing could have protected me. Jii-chan was even more terrified of losing another person to him and…it made my own fear worse. When I started to care…I didn't want to worry him more than necessary. They became a security blanket to him, funnily enough. As long as I wore these, he felt like I was safe…I don't even take them off in the sub, I just…they're a part of who I am now."

Luffy smiled, straddling his lap and tilting his head back, hands cupping his cheeks. "I told them they were being stupid. If they need to see Torao's eyes to know how he's feeling, they are too weak to be sailing with me! That's what observation Haki is for!"

Cora slipped his arms around his friend in a hug. "Don't worry about it, Luffy-ya. They'll get over it. They'll only be forced to put up with me for a couple of days after all."

He immediately pouted. "Aw, what? I wanted to sail together to Zou!"

Cora laughed. "Oh, sweetheart, I'd love to, but there are some upstarts in the South Blue causing damage. The bases there have it under control for now, but the control is temporary. We need to figure out what's causing it and either treat the cause or prevent further symptoms."

"You talk like the world is your patient." Luffy said with a smile. "I like it." He kissed Cora's forehead tenderly. "I'll miss you. It won't be the same without you."

"It wouldn't be an adventure if it was the same." He replied as he kissed his nose.

"I'll still miss you." He huffed before kissing him on the lips. He immediately deepened it and Cora let him, feeling contentment fill his chest as the boy settled more fully on his lap. This was good. This was enough.

Luffy pulled back to smile at him. "I love you, Torao."

Blushing darkly (he still wasn't used to hearing things like that), he resisted the urge to hide his face. "I love you too, Luffy-ya."

The boy brushed his cheek tenderly. "Let's go to sleep, Torao."

Smiling, he nodded and let him pull him to his feet. He was led by his hand to the men's dorm where the others were also preparing for bed.

"He's sleeping in here?!" Usopp asked in fright when they entered, causing Cora to pull up short.

He laughed, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "I wouldn't impose like that. I just came to put your captain to bed—"

"What? Torao, no, I wanna sleep together!" Luffy protested.

"Think of your crew, Sweetheart." He chuckled, kissing his forehead. "You share this room so they get a say when guests are on board. I'll see you in the morning."

Luffy caught his hand when he pulled away. "Then I'll just sleep with you. Where did you sleep last time?"

"I didn't. I stayed on deck." He replied.

"Where did they tell you to sleep?" He demanded.

Confused, he said, "I wasn't assigned a place—"

"WHAT? So you stayed on the deck the whole time?!" Luffy demanded in outrage.

Baffled by the direction their conversation had turned and how worked up the boy was getting, he started to flounder. He didn't understand what the big deal was. "Yes? I don't see—"

"Why didn't you go to the aquarium room?" Sanji demanded. "There are couches in there!"

"Where?" He asked blankly. "Aquarium room? Do you have pet fish or something?"

They all gaped at him like he'd grown six heads.

Deciding to accept the fact he'd be forever flummoxed by the crew, he brushed it off. "I'll see you in the morning." He repeated, leaving the room.

Luffy grabbed his hand again. "Ne, Torao, you'll love the aquarium room! We got all sorts of fish in there that Sanji makes into food—it's like a window to the ocean!"

He dug in his heels. "Luffy-ya, this can wait for morning. You need to go to sleep."

"What about you?" He demanded. "You fought Ace for twelve days straight! You can't stay up three more when we're gonna face Mingo!"

He brushed it off. "I'm stronger now, I can kick his ass easy. Even on no sleep."

"You don't _have to_!" He exclaimed in frustration. "We're gonna sleep together, Torao. Every chance we get so that when we get to Dressroba, we can wipe the floor with his ass so easily, he'll know he ain't shit! Now come on, the couches are _really_ comfy!"

He huffed a laugh. "Fine, fine. But—"

"No buts unless it's you touching mine."

He blushed and laughed brightly. "I thought you wanted to sleep."

Luffy huffed. "Shut up."

Chuckling, he let himself be dragged to an ordinary looking door, but inside—

—it stole his breath away. Soft lights bathed the room a soothing blue and shadows of the fish played across the walls as they swam idly.

He felt like he was in his room on his sub in the shallow seas of the North Blue, safe for the first time since he escaped Minion.

Kikoku fell from his limp fingers with a clattering thud, but he barely noticed, mind suddenly hazy. He vaguely noticed as he was pulled onto a couch and pushed to lie down. They climbed on top of him, curling up and he was asleep before his eyes even closed.


End file.
